On this day, Dec. 13, in 1932, a deranged man drew a loaded revolver in the visitors’ gallery of the floor of the House of Representatives and demanded time to speak on the nation’s economic depression.

U.S. Rep. Melvin Maas received the Carnegie Silver Medal for disarming a maniac in the United States House of Representatives.

Marlin Kemmerer, 25, aimed his .38-caliber pistol at the chamber below, sending visitors and congressmen running for cover in the U.S. Capitol.

Kemmerer, a sporting-goods clerk from Allentown, Pa., carried a note that began, “Okay America! For the next 20 minutes you will listen to a speech which has the interest of the American people. The first man that tries to stop me will die. Is that understood?”

Minnesota Rep. Melvin Maas, a World War I veteran who continued to serve in the Marine Corps Reserve, remained on the House floor and calmly pleaded with Kemmerer to relinquish his weapon.